


Fools Will Be Fools

by DemonSquipster



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Don't Tell Marvin, F/M, Jason is a Dork, M/M, Marvin is an Asshole, Mendel Being a Dad, Mendel Has it All, Might be OOC, Missing Scene, Post-Act One, Pre-Act Two, Whizzer Being a Dad, Whizzer Doesn't Know if He Loves Marvin, Whizzer Wants a Tight-Knit Family, Whizzer is a Nickname
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 11:56:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13589556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonSquipster/pseuds/DemonSquipster
Summary: Whizzer shows up at the Weisenbachfeld house one night after debating whether he loves Marvin. Maybe, just maybe, he can have a tight-knit family too. He cares about Jason too much to stay away.





	Fools Will Be Fools

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Men like vultures](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11977110) by [silvereyedotaku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvereyedotaku/pseuds/silvereyedotaku). 



> Title and inspiration from The Man Who Got Away. The Games I Play lent some inspiration too.  
> Only Whizzer's explanation to Trina has some inspiration from silvereyedotaku's Men Like Vultures, but I would still suggest reading it if you haven't, because it's written so wonderfully. Definitely go check it out.

Whizzer Brown didn't love Marvin.

That's what he tried telling himself, at least. 

He'd tried to get away from Marvin, and everything that reminded him of the man. But everything around him seemed to remind him of Marvin. He couldn't even keep up his typical schedule, the one he'd been sticking with for years. 

Everything was losing its purpose in his eyes. He missed Jason. He missed Marvin. A small part of him even missed Trina. 

He searched for someone to vent to, to help him in a way. But all roads led to Marvin's psychiatrist. And he wasn't going to see Doctor Weisenbachfeld, no matter what. It would feel too much like he was crawling back to Marvin, and he couldn't do that. Maybe he did love Marvin. But if he went back, it would be all too much like it was before he left. 

He wished he'd never met Marvin. Couldn't they had just left it at the one-night stand it had been? Whizzer left his phone number, just because of how  _great_ Marvin was. He didn't know the guy was married. The ring had been left in his pocket. Marvin had clearly known what he was looking for when he showed up at the bar. 

It never really occurred to Whizzer until now. He kept walking, the wind blowing around him growing colder. Marvin had left his mark on Whizzer, physically and mentally. He didn't feel like he had won over the shorter man anymore. 

_"Love me, or leave me," Marvin hissed back. "Fine. Good riddance," he growled back._

This wasn't his fault. It was Marvin's.

But he couldn't help but take responsibility.

Marvin's life had just crumbled around him, and his affair with Whizzer had sparked that. But Jason and Trina could be happy now, with Doctor Weisenbachfeld. He knew how miserable he was with Marv towards the end of their relationship, but the longer he stayed away, the more it pained him. 

 _This is Marvin's fault, Whizzer._  Marvin's family charades tore their relationship to pieces. It was  _not_ his fault, and he was  _not_ going to feel pity for this man he once might have loved. 

Yet he couldn't keep good with his usual recreation. He couldn't stop picturing his partners as Marvin. It'd been a good year since he left Marvin though, and he was starting to fade in his mind. The littlest details were missing, but the one thing that burned in the back of his mind were his sharp blue eyes. He was making all these mistakes, yet Marvin's judging eyes were no longer following him physically. Mentally, they were. 

 _'Don't do this,'_ and  _'don't do that'_.  _'Don't touch that, Whizzer.' 'Stop that, Whizzer.' 'Don't drink that, Whizzer.'_  " _Move the pawn, Whizzer."_  That last one hurt him more than the others. God, he couldn't even look at a chessboard anymore. The king piece especially.  _"That's the king. Treat him nice."_  Whizzer had mocked Marvin's little comments before, but now he yearned for them. Everyday, he hoped Marvin might turn up somewhere, so Whizzer wouldn't have to crawl back to Marvin's doorstep. He could imagine Marvin slamming the door in his face. But it would have been worth it, to see what shape Marvin was in.

Was he still miserable? Did Trina now avoid him? Was there restraining orders placed upon him from Mendel, or Trina? Did Mendel allow him to be around Trina or Jason? Was Jason scared of Marvin? But most of all, he wondered what kind of impact he left on them. Did Jason ever think about Whizzer? Even want to play chess? Did Marvin ever think of Whizzer too? Did Marvin miss him as much as Whizzer missed Marvin? He had questions; so many that he thought would probably go unanswered. He wondered what kind of hobbies Jason had gotten into. He must have been eleven and a half by now. Had Marvin started dating again? Had Jason moved on from adoring Whizzer, to adoring another boyfriend of Marvin? 

He selfishly hoped not. Whizzer finally had a stable address now, and hoped maybe he could get letters from Jason. Maybe. If he dropped by Trina's house- no, she might have not even lived there anymore. His feet had been betraying them; he knew he was just a block away from her old house now. He started running now, his shoes pounding against the concrete beneath his feet. 

Before he knew it, he was staring at the door. It looked the same as when he left, just... happier. He knew Mendel and Trina were married now. Were they happy? He let out a breath, and nodded. He could do this. He knocked on the door. It was late, he knew. He looked down at his watch. 11:29 at night. Nearly midnight. He sighed. He didn't even know if they were awake. Turns out, one of them was. "Oh. Hello." Mendel's tone was surprised, if not a little tired, but not angry. Whizzer hesitated before answering. How casual could he sound? "I'm so sorry to be knocking at an hour like this-" Mendel laughed softly. "No, it's not an issue." He stepped out of the house, shutting the door. "I could be a murderer, you don't know." He smirked slightly, trying to lighten his nerves. 

He also knew he'd never met Mendel in person. He seemed as happy and relaxed as Marvin had described. "Well, if I'm going to die, I don't really want to wake Trina," he explained. "Well, you must know that I know who Trina is." Mendel nodded. "I kind of assumed, since I don't know you, and you... seem a bit old to be Jason's friend. No offense, of course." Whizzer bit his tongue, keeping back some harsh comments, and just agreed. "Yeah, I get it. Um, I am Whizzer. Brown." Mendel's eyebrows shot up in shock. " _Oh._ He doesn't live here-" Whizzer shook his head. "I'm not looking for him. No, I'd rather not see him," he lied. "Then what are you doing here?" Whizzer took a breath, and let it out - he felt bad because he could see his breath, and all it seemed that Mendel had on at the moment was a robe, and maybe underwear. He must have been freezing. 

"I was wondering, is Trina doing well? I was hoping she'd be awake, and I was in the neighborhood-" Mendel turned, and opened the door. "She is awake, actually. Jason's not, so you must be quiet." He stepped inside, and Whizzer followed. It looked almost how he remembered, but... after looking around a moment longer, it  _wasn't_. The pictures of Marvin, Trina, and Jason together were replaced with pictures of Mendel, Trina, and Jason. In fact, it looked as if Marvin hadn't been a part of their family at all. Not a single picture of him hung on the walls. There was a recent picture of Jason; his school photo, probably. He looked... well. Happy. It made Whizzer feel a little better. He looked over at Mendel, who had a hand on the doorknob that led to Trina and Mendel's room. That had been Trina and Marvin's room, and Whizzer recalled memories of some things he and Marvin had done on that bed.

He doubted Mendel even knew. "Sorry, I just-" Mendel shrugged. "Don't apologize. Jason told me a lot about you. He admires you, you know. You were the father Marvin wasn't, and I couldn't be." Whizzer nodded. "Well, from what Marvin had told me about you, you must be an amazing father." Mendel looked down at his shoes a moment, before meeting Whizzer's eyes. "I just... I feel like I can't reach him sometimes. Have any advice?" Whizzer smiled - a genuine one, one that he hadn't let cross his face in what seemed like an eternity. "Chess and baseball. They're practically the way to his heart." Mendel seemed to consider this. There was silence between them a beat, before Mendel opened the door and walked into the bedroom. Whizzer followed after. "Mendel, wh-" Trina fell silent, seeing Whizzer in the doorway as Mendel took his spot on the bed beside her. " _Whizzer_." 

She didn't look entirely pleased to see him. "Hi, Trina." After a while of silence, Mendel cleared his throat. "Are you... well?" Trina looked at him a moment. "Are you talking to me?" He sighed. "Yes. I am." She looked over at Mendel, and they exchanged looks. "Whizzer... sit down." She patted the end of the bed. He cocked an eyebrow at her, but sat down where she patted out of sheer curiosity. "If you want to see Marvin, he-" he jumped up. "No! I don't want to see him!" His face grew red. All three knew he was lying. "Whizzer?" The small voice could be heard at the doorway, and Whizzer turned around to see the source. "Jason! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you-" he was interrupted by the boy running over to him and hugging him. Whizzer glanced at Trina and Mendel, before hugging back. Trina sighed, and Mendel just kind of smiled at him.

"You came back!" Jason sounded so happy, it would have hurt Whizzer to tell him the truth. "Yeah," he replied softly. He kept shooting apologetic looks at Trina. She had a forced smile on her face, and Whizzer had flashbacks to the first time they met. The first time he realized he was a homewrecker. "Whizzer, guess what?" He was so excited, and Whizzer felt more and more guilty. "What?" He met Jason's huge grin with a smile, even if it was a little forced. It felt more natural than Trina's looked, however. "I tried out for the baseball team, and made it! Do you think you could teach me how to pitch?" Whizzer stammered a moment. "I mean-" He couldn't say no to Jason, could he? "Yes, of course, sweetie." 

Trina's voice came in, saying what Whizzer was unsure if he could. "Thanks, Mom!" He ran over to her and gave her a hug. Her smile was a little more genuine now. "You can't tell Marvin about me being back, okay?" Whizzer told Jason, who accepted it without question. "What if I do, on accident?" The taller man got down on a knee, to try and reach Jason's height a little better. "You have to try not to. If he finds out I'm back... I can't help you learn how to pitch anymore." Jason nodded. "I get it. You don't like him, do you?" Whizzer couldn't answer that. He didn't know if he did. "Jason. You should get to bed, it's awfully late." He was clearly avoiding the question. "Whizzer's right. Come on, Jason." Mendel stood up, and waved on Jason as he headed out the door. 

Jason headed back towards the door, but turned back just for a moment. "Thanks, Whizzer. See you later." Whizzer chuckled. "See you later, Jason." Then he was gone. Whiz turned back towards Trina. "I... I came to say I'm sorry." Trina sighed. "Whizzer, you don't-" Whizzer frowned. "No, I  _do_. You need to know the truth. I don't know what lie Marvin's told you, if he's told you anything, but you need to know. I- I didn't know- no, I did. I knew Marvin was married, and we continued. If I pretended you weren't... no. In my head, I pretended you didn't exist. I found out he was married, when his wedding ring fell out of his pocket one day. I came over that day we met, for what I'm sure you've realized. You were so... nice, and didn't deserve it. I knew the affair we were carrying on would be more difficult to continue, but I thought maybe... I could. And then when I saw that picture of Jason, hanging in the dining room... I realized he had a kid; he'd never mentioned Jason before. I felt guilty, and I smacked him. He forced me into this role of homewrecker. It was so much more than I realized. It wasn't just me, wrecking a marriage, it was me wrecking a family." 

Whizzer heard Mendel reenter the room, but didn't say anything about it. "Well, at least you were more considerate than Marvin was." She nodded, and scooted closer to Whizzer. "I had seen the red spot on his cheek, and you'd left in such a hurry, I figured you two had gotten into a fight. I guess you two were closer than I had imagined," she wryly joked. Mendel sat on the bed, but kept quiet. "I truly am so sorry, Trina." His voice had dropped, below a whisper. He wasn't even entirely sure she heard it. She knew he really was being serious, because he'd even pronounced her name correctly. She didn't think he'd ever done that. Or at least, she'd never heard him pronounce it right. "I've learned to forgive Marvin. And I've forgiven you too. If you do want to know, he's doing well. Jason stays with him on the weekends, and he's gotten a stable life."

"Is he... dating, again?" Trina shook her head. "He tried, but never actually found someone that he let stay." Whizzer had made an impact, and both pride and despair swelled in him. "I've gotten a stable life too. I've been working as a bartender, downtown. I've got a home. It's... nice." Lonely had been the word he was looking for. "Maybe if we got the address, Jason could work on that pitching he wanted to work on." Mendel finally spoke up. "Hm. Sure, if I could get a piece of paper." Mendel grabbed his work pad, and a pen, and handed it to Whizzer. He scribbled down the address, and handed it back. "I should go, let you two get some sleep. Maybe get some sleep of my own." He stood up, and walked out of the room. He glanced at the two before shutting the door. He'd gotten himself tangled back in their lives. But fools will be fools, and he knew his path would cross Marvin's again soon enough. He just didn't know how soon. 


End file.
